IS 



THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. 



[Jan. 



icebergs which are not unfrequent in the Uititude of Newfoundland are 

 another source of danger, and the dense fogs met with in the same 

 region are highly unfavourable to steam navigation ; whilst the con- 

 sequences of tire, a by no means uncommon visitation in steam vessels, 

 in the midst of the Atlantic, are appalling to contemplate. Several 

 of these obstacles are manifestly irremoveable, and are therefore only 

 capable of being regarded as neutralizing to a certain extent, the bene- 

 fit, if any, of the scheme. But others, and those the most formidable, 

 are susceptible of diminution by the division of the voyage into suit- 

 able stages. 



"Seeing then the unfavourable aspect under which the project of 

 establishing an uninterrupted line of steam navigation between Great 

 Britain and New York presents itself, let us consider whether by re- 

 solving the voyage into the shortest possible stages, the enterprise 

 may be brought under more promising conditions. For this purpose 

 it is obvious that the most western coast of the British Isles should be 

 taken as a point of final departure. The west coast of Ireland would 

 therefore be naturally selected, fringed as it is by numerous spacious 

 and well sheltered harbours. St. John's, Newfoundland, is the most 

 western port, but this harbour is attended witli so many nautical diffi- 

 culties that it could scarcely be regarded as accessible with that cer- 

 tainty which such a line of communication would require — Newfound- 

 land presents an iron-bound coast ; and even Nova Scotia should be 

 avoided were it possible to extend the passage : but the distance from 

 the west coast of Ireland to Halifax comes up to the extreme limit of a 

 (profitably) practicable steam passage. We greatly fear thai any 

 alkmjjl lo supersede the necessity of making Halifax a stage must prove 



ABORTIVE." 



In conclusion, Dr. Lardner observes, " Let us however not be mis- 

 understood. That the passage from Liverpool to New York cannot 

 on any occasion be made in one run by a steam ship, we do not main- 

 tain." But he declares his conviction that as a practical, permanent, 

 profitable thing, Atlantic steam voyaging will not and cannot be in the 

 j'resent state of the art successful. And this conclusion he is content 

 to avow, notwithstanding its unpopuUirily. " In confessing then as we 

 do, that after the most careful and anxious inquiry respecting this in- 

 teresting question, our fears of the result of such an enterprise greatly 

 preponderate over our hopes, we are sensible of expressing an unpo- 

 pular opinion. It is the natural and fortunate tendency of the human 

 mind to anticipate success, and we ourselves shared this feeling when 

 Vie commenced the present investigation, we were wholly unaware to 

 what point results since ascertained would lead us." 



We shall oflfer no further remarks respecting Dr. Lardner's state- 

 ments, which are well able to speak for themselves, but shall at once 

 proceed to the second part of our subject, viz., the determination of 

 the present condition of the enterprises for maintaining a steam com- 

 munication between Great Britain and New York. This may perhaps 

 best be shown by an enumeration of the several vessels which have 

 been employed upon that line, and the mode of their respective dis- 

 position. 



Sirius withdrawn. 



Royal William withdrawn. 



„ . T . , , r , 1 Now maintaining steam 



Great Liverpool transferred! . , ■„ , 



IT •. J o. . ^ ^ ■ X ,^ , r , r communication with In- 

 United States (now Oriental) transferred ,. ,1 r> J o 



^ ■■ dia, via the Red Sea. 



British Queen sold. 



President lost. 



Great Western for sale. ] 



Great Iron steamer, (un- f said to be. 



finished) stopped. ■' 



The Halifax line which carries out Dr. Lardner's recommendations 

 to a certain extent aloiie thrives; yet it has been questioned if even tl 

 could continue to keep the field without the aid it derives from the con- 

 veyance of the mails, unless it were to make the western coast of Ireland, 

 the point of final departure. The question might be worth consider- 

 ing by the proprietors of the Halifax packets as well as by the West 

 India Mail Packet company, whether it would not be greatly to their 

 advantage if all of their vessels were to make the western coast of 



Ireland, their point of arrival and departure. But should the managers 

 of those companies think differently, should the shareholders resolve 

 in spite of common sense and Dr. Lardner, to throw thousands upon 

 thousands of pounds sterling into the gulf of direct communication, 

 they are quite welcome for aught we care to continue to indulge so 

 reasonable a predilection. 



There is one circumstance connected with the preceding table of 

 the manner in which the vessels are employed in the Atlantic enter- 

 prise, which affords an example so striking of the coincidence between 

 the deductions of philosophy and the results of experience, that al- 

 though it has no immediate reference to the present subject, we cannot 

 permit this opportunity to pass without saying a word respecting it. 

 Dr. Lardner it is well known did not confine his inquiries to Atlantic 

 steam voyaging, he also discussed the merits of steam communication 

 with India, via the Red Sea, and it may be satisfactory collaterally to 

 ascertain what his opinions were respecting that line of intercommuni- 

 cation. We shall find those opinions stated in his letter to Lord Mel- 

 bourne, published in 1S37, from which we extract the following pas- 

 sage : " It has been contended that the question should not be regarded 

 as one to be determined merely upon a calculation of profit, that on 

 the contrary, it is one with which great political and social interests 

 are interwoven so closely that it ought to be adopted even though its 

 entire cost should have to be defrayed by the nation. This principle 

 has been implicitly admitted in the resolutions of the Select Commit- 

 tee of 1334, and it has been explicitly avowed by the late Governor 

 General, by several honourable members of the legislation, and of your 

 lordship's administration. But it is a principle which I think it un- 

 necessary to discuss in the present case, because there is no proposition, 

 however self evident, which carries to my mind a more clear conviction 

 than I have, thai this measure, if efficiently carried into operation, mill 

 more than return its own expences" Here is an opinion diametrically 

 opposite to that delivered respecting Atlantic voyaging. Let us in- 

 quire how far this conclusion is borne out by experience. 



The "Great Liverpool" having in a single season earned a loss to her 

 proprietors of six thousands sterling upon the New York line it was 

 determined to withdraw her; and with another new vessel built for 

 Atlantic voyaging, now the Oriental, to open a communication with 

 India, via the Red Sea. The proprietors of the British Queen, who 

 we have been informed, have sustained a loss of about sixty thousand, 

 pounds in Atlantic steam transit, became competitors with the Great 

 Liverpool and Oriental for the Alexandrian line, plainly showing that 

 both of those companies after a vast expenditure of money, had arrived 

 at the very conclusion Dr. Lardner held three or four years before. 

 Has it never occurred to the proprietors of those vessels that they 

 might have saved about 100,000/., as well as vast responsibility, anxiety, 

 risk and discredit, if at the commencement of the Atlantic discussions 

 they had prevented their passions from exercising their favourite 

 calling, that of running away with their reason? 



A recent meeting of the proprietary of the Peninsular and Oriental 

 Steam Navigation Company enables us to state that oriental steam 

 voyaging has been highly successful, and this result has been attained 

 with the same vessels and by the same management that were incapa- 

 ble of realizing any thing but loss on the New York line. It is plain 

 from this result that the Atlantic enterprise did not fail from mis- 

 management, even were we not assured, as we are, that Mr. Carleton 

 and mismanagement are altogether incompatible. Can a coincidence 

 such as this between prediction and reality be merely fortuitous ? 



Has Atlantic steam navigation been successful? Has the establish- 

 ment of the several lines of steam communication between Great 

 Britain and New York been productive of a permanently profitable 

 issue? We leave the verdict to our readers, our part being merely to 

 furnish such remarks and data as may conduce to the attainment of a 

 just conclusion. Had we set out with a different resolution, we might 

 perhaps have given it as our opinion that the Atlantic scheme had 

 proved itself a signal failure — that Dr. Lardner's views had been con- 

 firmed with singular exactness — that 



Earth has its bubbles as the water liatb, 

 Ami this IS of them. 



